Frosh, Soph And Aged Battles Adorn Weekend Action

POSTED Jul 16, 2014
By
Frank Cotolo

The Adios was traditionally a post-Hambletonian affair,
refocusing upon the glamour-boy pacers after the severe concentration of
glamour-boy trotters. In the new millennium, the Adios is part of August’s overture
of harness highlights and unlike its old place on the stakes calendar, the
Adios absentees are usually the best of the division.

The 2014 Adios presents a strict, second-tier cast in the soph-colt pacing
division, with the two giants, JK Endofanera and Hes Watching, passing. Also
absent are Always B Miki, Doo Wop Hanover, Western Vintage, Lyonssomewhere,
Tellitlikeitis and Sometimes Said, leaving the elims looking a lot like the ad
hoc consolation for the Meadowlands Pace. It is no wonder that the morning-line
favorite is McWicked.

The good news is that all three Adios elims may be good betting races, maybe
better than the July 26 final. So we will dig into them in this blog, looking
for some generous returns on our plays.

Older pacers and trotters will tangle in Ohio and Ontario with the Battle of
Lake Erie at Northfield and the Maple Leaf Trot at Mohawk. Frosh class is
displayed at Yonkers in the Lawrence Sheppard Final and the first leg of the
Ima Lula features four-year-old mare trotters at the Meadowlands.

Canadian Breeders Championships (CBC) for pacers at Mohawk are covered below,
while those for trotters and the Reynolds is covered in our spin-off blog, the
Hambletonian Trail. Check it
out by clicking here.

Overnight action culminates in our horses-to-watch list (H2W), where our
suggested contenders have been mighty across-the-board plays, with many
exorbitant place and show prices.

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all you want and earn 10 TSC Elite Points per dollar bet. Click here for details. Every Thursday
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‘Sheppard’ Flock

Saturday night, July 19, the $125,000 Lawrence
B. Sheppard Pace Final for two-year-old colt-and-gelding pacers highlights
Yonkers’ program. Leading the field of eight are the elim winners In the
Arsenal and Cartoon Daddy. They are joined by Byby Landon, Mystical
Pacer, Rock N Roll World, Lone Survivor, Perfect Eagle and Parklane Eagle.

Mystical Pacer draws our interest from a tough outside trip in his elim that
still got him third. “Arsenal” beat Byby Landon on getting the wood in an early
duel. “Mystical” has the goods to take this event where only two colts are not
maidens (Arsenal and “Cartoon”). He should be a decent price, one you may pump
up in exactas by using Byby Landon (how the fans hate the 8 hole) and Parklane
Eagle (from the productive sire of froshes, Somebeachsomewhere).

The K Factor

The $603,000 Maple Leaf Trot Final defies nine older trotters to go faster than
Sebastian K. That is the end of the conversation. This season, Ake Svanstedt’s
monster trotter has devoured the division and won faster than any trotter in
the history of the sport. He has beaten the likes of the “Maple” field, proving
Mohawk was not a problem (the elim was his first race in Canada). So now what
do handicappers do? Perhaps some thoughts from a trainer may help punters lean
away from Ake’s stallion.

Rod Hughes, whose horses have won the Maple three times, said he doesn’t think
“K” has been “in deep enough” to be considered a lock in any race. Hughes told
local journalists that K’s racing without shoes may hamper his winning two
weeks in a row.
Hughes likes Market Share and Mister Herbie better than K this week. “Herbie”
won this race in 2012 in 1:50.4, faster than K went last week on this surface.
Hughes said it is difficult to go faster than Herbie went winning unless it is
a very warm night.
Why not take Hughes’ analysis? After all, his trotter, San Pail, when he was at
his best, beat big European trotters in Canada. Plus, we have been on the side
of Herbie many times; he is a top trotter and he is on his home field. So let’s
look for the upset, not with Market Share, with Herbie.

The 48th
edition of the $600,000 (est.) Delvin Miller Adios Pace for the Orchids is the
focus of a great stakes program on July 26 and an end to a great Grand Circuit
week of racing at the Meadows; great for bettors. We will be posting various
wagering suggestions through the week on social media sites. Meanwhile, July
19, three Adios elimination divisions race to determine the field for the traditional
classic.

Each Adios elim is worth $50,000 and six colts start in each. In the first elim
we are going to go with Bushwacker, who was fourth in the “Pace” consolation
and who offers a price against the two Ron Burke probable public choices. In
the second elim, Lets Drink On It finally has a shot to win now that he steps
down into the second tier of the division’s stakes group. In the last elim,
McWicked will be on a tear to take this wire to wire as a prohibitive favorite.
If he has to duel with Stevensville or At Press Time, then Brioni, third in the
Pace consolation last week, could take him down. He certainly should be
included in any McWicked exotics you choose.

Ohio Battleground

This
year, “Battle” night at Northfield carries total purses of $554,500. The
15-race program boasts an impressive undercard, featuring nine $40,000
divisions of Ohio Sires Stakes for two- and three-year-old colt pacers and
trotters.

Foiled
Again has drawn post 7 in July 19’s $150,000 Battle of Lake Erie. Of course, he
has been named the 3-1 morning-line favorite. Foiled Again makes his sixth
appearance in the event and he is aiming to become the first horse in
Northfield Park history to win this event three times. Ron Burke, who also
sends out Clear Vision, trains Foiled Again. Also among the battlers are Night
Pro, Beach Memories, Bolt The Duer, Fool Me Once, Twilight Bonfire and
Apprentice Hanover.

In thick but getting the rail and on a skein, is Night Pro. He is an Indiana
Sires Stakes champ coming into the Battle, against the toughest foes he has
ever faced, looking for his seventh-straight win. Apprentice Hanover will be
more ignored than necessary because he leaves from post 8. His morning line is
10-1 compared to Night Pro’s 4-1. That’s too much just for being on the
outside, especially with too much speed on top. Apprentice Hanover should offer
a better chance than his price and these two could be the last two standing at
the wire for the upset exacta.

Ima Lula

A lone division kicks off the Ima Lula series on Friday night at the
Meadowlands, compiled of six four-year-old mares, two of which entering off of
a showdown with Bee A Magician in the Miss Versatility. One of them is Perfect
Alliance, who debuted off of a month layoff last week. She finished seventh and
adds lasix for this outing. The other being Handover Belle, the more
interesting of the two.

CBC Pacers

For six digits in each division, soph-colt-and-filly pacers bred in Ontario
race for the CBC championships.

The colts are the first to contest, with 2013 Metro winner Boomboom
Ballykeel coming in off of a victory in the elimination. Yet, favored in that
elim was Victor Bayama, who took an off-the-pace approach and finished third.
When he debuted in late June, he won easily by 3 lengths in the Ontario Sires
Stakes (ONSS) at 6-1. From post 10, he has the speed to be put into the mix,
which seems to be the best approach in this race as an off-the-pace effort
might include a barrage of traffic.

Lady Shadow, who will be heavily bet off of a 1:49.1 victory in her elim,
highlights the filly final. With a strong on-the-lead type in the field, the
only way to beat her would be with a stalker. Another elimination winner, My
Secret Belle, fits the condition perfectly. She seems to be driven similarly in
stakes races, riding the cones to victory in an ONSS division and doing so in
her elimination as the favorite. With Joe Hudon Jr. driving, that will likely
inflate her value as we look for her to draft to victory. An outside
contender, Nefertiti Bluechip may be able to topple thm all. “Nefertiti” was a
sharp third in her elimination at 32-1 and post 9 should be a plus in the
stretch since she could stay out of trouble and wallow by speed retarding in
the stretch.

H2W Legend

Review our choices and follow the wagering at the prescribed track. These are
possible contenders we have judged from reviewing races. The horses’ names are
listed beneath the name of the track after the date they will be racing. The
race in which they are entered (R and race number) follows. If a + is in front
of a horse’s name it means it is appearing on the list for the second (and last
time) because it failed to win the first time it appeared. An “ae” signals the
horse is entered on the also-eligible list. If a horse is listed twice, refer
to the entries on the night of the race since a horse may enter in more than
one race. Types of wagering on any of the H2W listed horses are based on your
judgment. If you have any questions, email us at TwinSpires.

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TwinSpires' horse racing author, handicapper, and podcast host, Derek Simon of Denver, Colo. offers his insightful, humorous and sometimes controversial take on the horse racing industry. He even publishes the ROI on the picks he gives out.

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A writer and editor who has been following horse racing for fifteen years. Peter has written books for the Daily Racing Form Press; Crown; and Simon and Schuster; among other publishers, and regular features in The Horseplayer Magazine.